Coulomb
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- Apr 24, 2021
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- Location
- Brisbane, Australia
- Driving
- MG ZS EV
My apologies if this is done to death already; a quick search for existing posts on this didn't return any results.
I really dislike incandescent lights anywhere in a car, though I tolerate them in indicators. I've started with just the boot light (I like that to be quite bright and white), and the interior/map lights.
For the boot, I tried a 4x3 LED replacement, and it was better than stock, but I prefer brighter. So I dug out my COB (Chip On Board) LEDs and installed them. These are much brighter. The yellow is not as noticeable in real life (with no light from behind) as in the below close-up:
In the above, you can see the slim strip of double sided tape at the bottom, and the two blobs of Blu◌Tack™ at the sides. It's actually a fairly snug fit as I've installed these, so I don't think they'll break loose. Time will tell.
The cheap ones I bought came with a M3216 (imperial 1206) 20Ω SMD resistor, which is overloaded by about 4x at 13.5 V, and became literally stinking hot. So I shorted out the resistor, and add 2 10Ω 1 W leaded resistors in series with the positive input. Even at 14.4 V and in the restricted airflow position, they should be fine. I did much the same to my 2012 Nissan Leaf nearly 2 years ago, and it's working fine, though I see I used silicone back then. Here is a view from the back:
One of the 10Ω resistors has heat-shrink insulating it from possibly shorting with the +12 V (copper) metal. It's hard to see in the photo, but the end of the resistor is soldered to the corner of the copper strip. If needed, it would be simple to undo and replace with a standard 31 mm "festoon" incandescent bulb.
I bought the COB lights from Ebay; I won't supply a link because it will be outdated in a few weeks. This one is from Australia, but I'm sure they're available everywhere. These were 10 (!) for AU$4.69 at the time, free (but very slow) postage:
The map lights don't seem to need the COB treatment (though I have most of the parts to do it if needed). As per the manual, you prise the diffuser's front (towards the windscreen) off carefully with a small screwdriver and/or good fingernails; it's always a fiddle. I just used two of the top LEDs from this set; the set was AU$11 delivered. They are now AU$13, but I see there is another seller that has them for AU$11.
I think I would have preferred the LEDs from the bottom set, but I used them up in other cars. 4/5 of the LEDs in the upper set shine light to the side, where there is nothing other than shiny beige plastic to reflect the light down to the cabin. But it's still brighter and much whiter than the stock incandescents.
I found it hard to remove the passenger side incandescent bulb; it eventually came out with enough brutality. Be careful pushing the bulbs back in. I just had my standard graduated glasses on, and with my stiff neck, I could not clearly see what I was doing, and pushed the whole bulb socket in. It worked, but was loose and would have been super annoying. So I pulled gently on the LED, but it came out and I could not get it back in. I wasted half an hour trying to get the socket out with pliers, then tried to get the light fitting (which is joined to the skylight controls), with no luck. I note that MG have provided a handy mirror for the purposes of this work; it doubles as a rear-view mirror when not working on the light
In the end, I was able to pull the socket out with a good pair of needle nosed pliers, by using a pair of cheap fixed focus 3.5x glasses (instead of my graduated prescription pair), and the appropriate contortion position (passenger side door open, feet out the side, head against the dash and steering wheel:
But of course, you won't have to do this, because you'll do as I say, not as I did
I'm pleased with the results. I'll likely do the number plate lights next; I ran out of time today.
You can see in the above photo our Linkt (Queensland toll road gizmo) stuck to the dash; we found out yesterday that it doesn't work in that position. We're waiting for Australia Post to deliver the holder, which doesn't come off the old car in such a way that it can be re-installed.
I do want to attempt the LED headlights, but I'm having trouble finding a source for the recommended Koyoso LED "bulbs"; the 20 000 lumen ones (I don't need that much light) are out of stock, and I can't find a source for the 12 000 lumens ones (that are in stock) as yet.
Edit: Not that I'd tried hard. But I wonder if this is due to the global semiconductor shortage.
I really dislike incandescent lights anywhere in a car, though I tolerate them in indicators. I've started with just the boot light (I like that to be quite bright and white), and the interior/map lights.
For the boot, I tried a 4x3 LED replacement, and it was better than stock, but I prefer brighter. So I dug out my COB (Chip On Board) LEDs and installed them. These are much brighter. The yellow is not as noticeable in real life (with no light from behind) as in the below close-up:
In the above, you can see the slim strip of double sided tape at the bottom, and the two blobs of Blu◌Tack™ at the sides. It's actually a fairly snug fit as I've installed these, so I don't think they'll break loose. Time will tell.
The cheap ones I bought came with a M3216 (imperial 1206) 20Ω SMD resistor, which is overloaded by about 4x at 13.5 V, and became literally stinking hot. So I shorted out the resistor, and add 2 10Ω 1 W leaded resistors in series with the positive input. Even at 14.4 V and in the restricted airflow position, they should be fine. I did much the same to my 2012 Nissan Leaf nearly 2 years ago, and it's working fine, though I see I used silicone back then. Here is a view from the back:
One of the 10Ω resistors has heat-shrink insulating it from possibly shorting with the +12 V (copper) metal. It's hard to see in the photo, but the end of the resistor is soldered to the corner of the copper strip. If needed, it would be simple to undo and replace with a standard 31 mm "festoon" incandescent bulb.
I bought the COB lights from Ebay; I won't supply a link because it will be outdated in a few weeks. This one is from Australia, but I'm sure they're available everywhere. These were 10 (!) for AU$4.69 at the time, free (but very slow) postage:
The map lights don't seem to need the COB treatment (though I have most of the parts to do it if needed). As per the manual, you prise the diffuser's front (towards the windscreen) off carefully with a small screwdriver and/or good fingernails; it's always a fiddle. I just used two of the top LEDs from this set; the set was AU$11 delivered. They are now AU$13, but I see there is another seller that has them for AU$11.
I think I would have preferred the LEDs from the bottom set, but I used them up in other cars. 4/5 of the LEDs in the upper set shine light to the side, where there is nothing other than shiny beige plastic to reflect the light down to the cabin. But it's still brighter and much whiter than the stock incandescents.
I found it hard to remove the passenger side incandescent bulb; it eventually came out with enough brutality. Be careful pushing the bulbs back in. I just had my standard graduated glasses on, and with my stiff neck, I could not clearly see what I was doing, and pushed the whole bulb socket in. It worked, but was loose and would have been super annoying. So I pulled gently on the LED, but it came out and I could not get it back in. I wasted half an hour trying to get the socket out with pliers, then tried to get the light fitting (which is joined to the skylight controls), with no luck. I note that MG have provided a handy mirror for the purposes of this work; it doubles as a rear-view mirror when not working on the light
In the end, I was able to pull the socket out with a good pair of needle nosed pliers, by using a pair of cheap fixed focus 3.5x glasses (instead of my graduated prescription pair), and the appropriate contortion position (passenger side door open, feet out the side, head against the dash and steering wheel:But of course, you won't have to do this, because you'll do as I say, not as I did
I'm pleased with the results. I'll likely do the number plate lights next; I ran out of time today.
You can see in the above photo our Linkt (Queensland toll road gizmo) stuck to the dash; we found out yesterday that it doesn't work in that position. We're waiting for Australia Post to deliver the holder, which doesn't come off the old car in such a way that it can be re-installed.
I do want to attempt the LED headlights, but I'm having trouble finding a source for the recommended Koyoso LED "bulbs"; the 20 000 lumen ones (I don't need that much light) are out of stock, and I can't find a source for the 12 000 lumens ones (that are in stock) as yet.
Edit: Not that I'd tried hard. But I wonder if this is due to the global semiconductor shortage.
Last edited:
